Chapter 2

[Gloria's POV]

"Miss Gloria... Can you really be heartless enough to leave it all behind?"

I opened my mouth to answer, but a sharp knock interrupts me. It's Kian's nurse.

"The heir is screaming for you. Please, come quickly."

I ignored the pain in my back and rushed to his room.

Kian had always been sickly. When I first joined the pack, he caught Silver-rot. I didn't sleep for a fortnight, nearly dying myself to pull him back from the brink.

He used to be so sweet, treating me like his own mother. He was the only thing I couldn't bear to leave.

But when I entered, I saw Kian snuggled in Sara's arms. My heart stung. Just as I turned to leave, Kian called out.

"Gloria, I called you here to take this filth away."

Gloria, not Mom.

I froze at the title.

Then, a dead cat was thrown at my feet. "I had this beast killed," he said calmly.

I stare at the small, bloodied body in disbelief.

Last year, Kian begged me for this cat. I kneeled outside Caleb's room in the freezing rain for a day and a night to let him keep it. Kian cried and rubbed my bruised knees, promising to protect me forever.

"What did he ever do to you? Why would you do this?" I whispered.

"He scratched my mother!" Kian shouted. "This little beast is just like you—low-ranked and useless. It upset my mother, so it had to die!"

Sara stroked his hair, a smile curling on her lips. "Don't blame my boy, Gloria. He's just too loyal. He can't stand to see me hurt."

Kian nodded sharply, his eyes full of coldness I couldn't recognize. "Get this trash out of here! It's stinking up my wing!"

Caleb walked in then, standing by Sara. He didn't even blink at the dead cat. "Just a pet," he said coldly. "Stop making a scene. Clean it up and get out."

I didn't say a word, just picked up the cat, carried it out, and buried it in the garden.

Freya was waiting by my side with red eyes. A bitter laugh escaped my throat. "You see? Now I can leave without a single regret."

When I returned to my room, Caleb was there. He reached out to pinch my face. "Crying over a little pet? Is it really worth it?"

He pulled me into his arms, sounding like he was granting a favor. "No Wolfsbane tonight. If you get pregnant, we'll keep the pup. Consider it your compensation."

He says it so casually, as if he had forgotten that I could never have pups again.

Five years ago, he was in my room every night. Even with the potions, I got pregnant.

I thought he might finally love me then. I told him, trembling with hope.

But Caleb didn't smile. He called for the pack's blade-healer and, with a single word, ordered them to carve the womb from my body.

I could still remember the slap.

"You low-ranked trash! You think you can replace Sara with a bastard in your belly?"

I bled alone on the straw in the dungeon for twelve hours. My pup died, and my womb was scarred forever.

Caleb reached into my clothes, yet I flinched away from his touch. "The Luna just returned," I said flatly. "The Alpha should be with his mate."

The room went silent. Caleb's hand froze. He laughed, but his eyes were dark. "You've certainly learned how to give me orders."

"I wouldn't dare," I whispered. "Sara's tired. You should show her some care."